The executive producer of “60 Minutes” on Monday ruled out issuing an apology over how the CBS show edited its interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris, according to The New York Times.
Paramount, the parent company of CBS, is reportedly discussing a settlementagreement with President Donald Trump in the $10 billion lawsuit he brought against the network last year. He accused the network of deceptively editing its sitdown with Harris.
Bill Owens, the executive producer of the show, addressed the reports of a settlement during a meeting with staff at their office in Manhattan, making clear that won’t include an apology from him.
“The company knows I will not apologize for anything we have done,” Owens said, according to the Times.
Shari Redstone, the chair of Paramount, is reportedly in favor of striking a deal with Trump as a goodwill gesture that she allegedly believes would clear the way for the Trump administration to approve the sale of Paramount to Skydance.
But journalists within the network have balked at the prospect of a settlement and Owens has previously conveyed he believes the network shouldn’t settle the suit, Variety reported.
At Monday’s meeting, Owens said he hadn’t discussed a possible settlement with Redstone while maintaining that the show had engaged in no wrongdoing.
“The edit is perfectly fine; let’s put that to bed so we can get on with our lives,” he said, according to the Times.
Trump’s lawsuit stemmed from two different versions the network released for Harris’ answer to a question about Israel from correspondent Bill Whitaker during an interview broadcast in October. The first was during a preview that aired on CBS’ “Face the Nation” and another during the “60 Minutes” full broadcast. “60 Minutes” has repeatedlydismissed Trump’s allegations as “false.”
The network last week agreed to comply with an order by FCC commissioner Brendan Carr to submit the unedited transcript and camera feeds of the Harris interview as part of a separate inquiry launched by the commission.
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